Intermittent fluid delivery system

ABSTRACT

An intermittent fluid delivery system includes a fill tank and a batch tank which is connected to the fill tank via a first pump and a first hose. The fill tank holds a first quantity of fluid. The batch tank holds a second quantity of fluid, which is lesser than the first quantity. The first pump delivers fluid from the fill tank to the batch tank. A second pump delivers fluid from the batch tank to a receiving tank.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims benefit of priority with U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/415,047, filed Oct. 31, 2016, entitled AIRCRAFTLAVATORY FILLING SYSTEM, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to an intermittent fluiddelivery system, and more particularly, to an intermittent fluiddelivery system that can prevent overfilling of an aircraft lavatorysystem.

BACKGROUND

Aircraft lavatory systems must be serviced regularly when the aircraftis on the ground. As shown in FIG. 1, aircraft lavatory systems 10generally include one or more toilet bowls 20 connected to a wastestorage tank 40, which stores bodily waste. The waste storage tank 40 isconnected to a waste drain fitting (or coupling) 50 by a waste draintube 30 for discharging waste, and a ground flush (or rinse) line 60 forfilling the waste storage tank 40 with sanitizing fluid. Access to thewaste drain fitting 50 and ground flush line 60 is provided through aservice panel 70 located on an underside of the aircraft, as shown, forexample, in FIG. 8.

During routine ground maintenance by ground service crews, the wastestorage tank 40 is typically emptied and rinsed, and the sanitizingfluid is replenished. In this way, waste is drained from the wastestorage tank 40 via the waste drain tube 30 and waste drain fitting 50,and sanitizing fluid is pumped back into the waste storage tank 40 viathe ground flush (or rinse) line 60. The sanitizing fluid is pumped intothe water storage tank 40 from a lavatory service truck or cart througha ground flush line connection 80, located in the service panel 70,coupled to the ground flush line 60. For purposes of this disclosure,sanitizing fluid, also referred to herein as “blue fluid” or “bluewater,” refers to a fluid with disinfectant chemicals that is mixed withwater. This chemical water disinfects and breaks down waste solids.

Ground service crews must be careful not to overfill the waste storagetank with sanitizing fluid or water. When the waste storage tank isoverfilled, the blue water or waste may overflow out of the toilet ontocarpeting, finished surfaces, or fixtures inside the aircraft. When thishappens, waste fluid may get under the floorboards, requiringmaintenance personnel to remove floorboards for inspection and replacewiring or other components. There have been instances where groundservice crews have overfilled the waste storage tank, causing damage tothe aircraft flooring and other components that required the aircraft tobe grounded. For example, in one instance a ground crew pumped 100gallons of water into the water storage tank of a small plane that wasdesigned to hold only 7 gallons of water. This resulted in over $130,000of property damage, diminished the value of the aircraft by over$800,000, and caused the aircraft to be grounded for several days. Evena small amount of overfill, for example, an overfill of between 1 to 5gallons could cost up to $40,000 to repair, not including re-inspectionfees. Cost to repair larger commercial aircraft due to overfill may besignificantly larger. In addition, each hour of down time may cost acommercial airline close to $6,000.

There is presently no industry accepted standard, or preventativehardware or software program for monitoring overfill of aircraftlavatory systems. Some manufacturers of the servicing equipment provideguides and placards to assist the ground crew operators in knowing theproper quantities of fluids to service lavatory systems. However, theprocedures must be carefully followed and monitored. Moreover, theground service crews often comprise new hires that exacerbate theproblems. On the other hand, aircrafts must be adapted if new hardwareand software are to be installed to avoid overfill problems. The costsare prohibitive.

Absent human errors from ground service crews, components in lavatoryfilling systems may still fail due to contact with the chemical waterovertime. For example, lavatory filling systems often rely on metersthat may provide faulty readings, thus causing overfills. Studies haveshown that the leading and most costly cause of aircraft lavatoryoverfill damage is directly related to fluid meter systems. Thesemetering systems commonly use a mechanical wheel or rotating disc-typemeters to measure fluid flow. As the fill fluid (i.e., blue water) ispumped through these meters, it actuates the gear, wheel or disc bycontact with the fluid. The lavatory treatment additives and/orchemicals added to the fill fluid are somewhat sticky in nature andwidely known to damage the metering mechanism. The sticky fluid may casethe meter to undercount or not count the fluid being pumped onboard theaircraft. Pumping systems on these vehicles or carts deliver as littleas 2 GPM (gallons per minute), and as much as 25 GPM. Therefore, in anexample where only 3 gallons of sanitizing fluid is required to be addedin a corporate aircraft application, it may only take a minute or two tooverfill a waste storage tank.

A need therefore exists for an intermittent fluid delivery system foruse in aircraft lavatory filling system that can substantially preventoverfilling, an advantage heretofore unknown in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An intermittent fluid delivery system is disclosed. In one example, theintermittent fluid delivery system is an aircraft lavatory fillingsystem that includes a fill tank and a batch tank that is connected tothe fill tank via a first pump and a first hose. The fill tank is sizedto hold a first quantity of fluid. The batch tank is sized to hold asecond quantity of fluid, wherein the second quantity is limited involume and is lesser than the first quantity. The first pump deliversfluid from the fill tank to the batch tank. A second pump delivers fluidfrom the batch tank to an aircraft onboard tank. As a result, thedisclosed aircraft lavatory filling system does not pump fluid directlyinto the aircraft, but rather into a batch tank. When the batch tank isfilled, the aircraft lavatory filling system delivers the fluid to theaircraft out of the batch tank in batches of limited quantity, until theaircraft holding tank is filled to the desired capacity. To preventoperator error, the pumps are activated only when a provided powerswitch is held in predetermined positions.

In a second example, the intermittent fluid delivery is an aircraftlavatory filling system that may include a fill tank and two batchtanks. In this example, the first batch tank may be connected to thefill tank via a first pump and a first hose and the second batch tankmay be connected to the fill tank via a second pump and a second hose.The fill tank is sized to hold a first quantity of fluid. The firstbatch tank and the second batch tank are each sized to hold a secondquantity of fluid, wherein the second quantity is limited in volume andis lesser than the first quantity.

Other devices, apparatus, systems, methods, features and advantages ofthe disclosure will be or will become apparent to one with skill in theart upon examination of the following figures and detailed description.It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features andadvantages be included within this description, and be protected by theaccompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present disclosure may be better understood by referring to thefollowing figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles ofthe disclosure. In the figures, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary prior artaircraft lavatory system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an aircraft lavatory fillingsystem with a single batch tank according to an example embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an aircraft lavatory fillingsystem with dual batch tanks according to an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary aircraft lavatoryservice cart housing an aircraft lavatory filling system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial top view of an exemplary aircraft lavatoryfilling system located in an exemplary aircraft lavatory service cartillustrated in FIG. 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a partial side view of an exemplary power switch foran aircraft lavatory filling system located in an exemplary aircraftlavatory service cart illustrated in FIG. 4 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary back lit batchtank according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B illustrates another perspective view of an exemplary back litbatch tank according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary operation set-upof an aircraft lavatory filling system being used to service an aircraftaccording to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 2-8 illustrate examples of various embodiments of an intermittentfluid delivery system used, for example, in an aircraft lavatory fillingsystem according to the teachings of the present disclosure. Forbrevity, the intermittent fluid delivery system used, for example, in anaircraft lavatory filling system will be referred to below as anaircraft lavatory system. However, it should be noted that theintermittent fluid delivery system may also be used in otherapplications to prevent overfill. Generally, the aircraft lavatoryfilling system may include a fill tank and at least one batch tank. Abatch pump delivers fluid from the fill tank to the batch tank, or batchtanks. A second pump delivers fluid from the batch tank, or batch tanks,to a receiving system, for example, an aircraft onboard tank. Inembodiments with dual batch tanks, one batch tank may receive and holdclear water; and the other batch tank may receive and hold clear waterand sanitizing agents. As a result, the disclosed aircraft lavatoryfilling system does not pump fluid directly into the aircraft (e.g.,directly into the aircraft onboard tank), but rather into a batch tank.When the batch tank is filled, the disclosed aircraft lavatory fillingsystem delivers the fluid to the aircraft out of the batch tank inbatches of limited quantity, until the aircraft holding tank is filledto the desired capacity. For purposes of the present disclosure, a“sanitizing agent” shall mean any type of concentrated sanitizingchemical or additives used to treat water stored in the fill tank,including, for example, “Lav Chem Blue” blue lavatory treatment fluid,“Lav Chem Clear” clear lavatory treatment fluid, and “Sani-Pak AircraftLavatory Sanitizer-Deodorant” powder manufactured by Aero Specialties,Inc., Boise, Id., “Blue Juice® LavFluid” manufactured by OrisonMarketing, LLC, Abilene, Tex., or “Clean Flush” flushing fluid or powdermanufactured by Aircraft Technologies, Inc., San Antonio, Tex. Forpurposes of the present disclosure, a “sanitizing fluid” shall refer tochemical solution of water and one or more sanitizing agents.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example embodiment of anintermittent fluid delivery system used, for example, in an aircraftlavatory filling system 200 according to the teachings of the presentdisclosure. The aircraft lavatory filling system 200 as illustrated is asingle batch or batching tank filling system. In some embodiments, theaircraft lavatory filling system 200 may be installed on an aircraftlavatory service cart (see, for example, FIG. 4), or other suitablevehicle or mobile transport.

The aircraft lavatory filling system 200 may include a fill tank 210 anda batch tank 230. The fill tank 210 may hold, for example, approximately16 to 250 gallons of water or sanitizing fluid on a service cart, orapproximately 100 to 500 gallons on a service truck. The fill tank 210may be constructed of plastic, aluminum, stainless steel, or othernon-corrosive material.

The batch tank 230 may hold a lesser, limited amount of fluid, forexample, up to 3 gallons of water or sanitizing fluid. The batch tank230 may be constructed of plastic, aluminum, stainless steel, or othernon-corrosive material.

In applications where the aircraft lavatory system 200 uses blue water,a blue lavatory chemical or any other suitable sanitizing fluid, suchas, for example, “Lav Chem Blue” blue lavatory treatment fluid or“Sani-Pak Aircraft Lavatory Sanitizer-Deodorant” powder manufactured byAero Specialties, Inc., Boise, Id., may be added and mixed with water inthe fill tank 210. A first pump 220 (which may be called a batch pump)pumps water or sanitizing fluid, via a first fluid line 222, from thefill tank 210 to the batch tank 230. In some embodiments, the batch tank230 may hold up to 3 gallons of fluid. A second pump 240 (which may becalled a blue pump) pumps fluid, via a second fluid line 242, from thebatch tank 230 to a tank rinse line coupling 250 coupled to an aircraftservice panel (see, for example, FIG. 8). The tank rinse line pumps thefluid to a waste storage tank located onboard the aircraft. The arrowsillustrated in FIG. 2 indicate the flow of fluid through the varioussystem components. The first and second pumps 220 and 240 may beelectric, gas, air, hand pump, or any suitable pump known in the art. Itshould be noted that in applications where the aircraft lavatory system200 does not require blue water, sanitizing fluid is not added to thefill tank 210.

In some exemplary operations, a ground crew operator may fill the filltank 210 with clear water, and then add an appropriate amount of bluesanitizing agent to the water in, for example, a 400:1 or 500:1 ratio,to form a sanitizing fluid (i.e., blue water). In some embodiments, thesanitizing agent may be added to the fill tank 210 through an accessfill port. The access fill port may be the same port used to fill thefill tank 210 with water, for example, at an airport terminal or ahangar. The fill tank 210 may also have an access lid or opening toreceive the sanitizing agent. When adding sanitizing agent in fluidform, the operator may measure and add the sanitizing agent perrecommendation of the manufacturer of the sanitizing agent. In someexemplary operations, the sanitizing agent may be powder which comes inprepackaged pouches that are sized appropriate to the capacity of thefill tank 210. After forming the sanitizing fluid, the operator may thenoperate the pump 220 (described further in FIG. 6) to fill the batchtank 230 with the sanitizing fluid from the fill tank 210. In someembodiments, the batch tank 230 may be filled with up to 3 gallons offluid.

In some other exemplary operations, an operator may add sanitizing agentdirectly to the batch tank 230.

Once the batch tank 230 is filled, the operator may next activate thepump 240 to deliver fluid from the batch tank 230 to the waste storagetank located onboard the aircraft. The operator may repeat the abovesteps—transporting water or sanitizing fluid at increments of, forexample, up to 3 gallons of water or sanitizing fluid at a time—untilthe lavatory tank onboard the aircraft is filled to a desired level.

In some embodiments, the batch tank 230 may be sized to a particularaircraft's fill quantity, making the operation simple and transparentfor the operator. For example, most small (e.g., 3-5 seats) and larger(e.g., 6-15 seats) private jets have a maximum fill capacity of 2.5 to 3gallons. In these cases, a 3-gallon batch tank 230 may be used. In otherexamples, regional aircrafts have a 7 to 15 gallons fill capacity, thus,a larger (e.g., 15-gallon) batch tank 230 may be used. Other tank sizesmay also be used.

With these batching steps, the aircraft lavatory filling system 200 mayallow only the batch-tank quantity of fluid to be delivered to thelavatory tank onboard the aircraft, thus, blocking direct access to thefill tank 210, which holds a larger quantity of water or sanitizingfluid, during the delivery of fluid to the aircraft. The batching stepshelp prevent overfilling of the waste storage tank located onboard theaircraft. It should also be noted that the aircraft lavatory fillingsystem 200 advantageously eliminates the use of fill meters and theirassociated problems.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second example embodimentof an intermittent fluid delivery system used, for example, in anaircraft lavatory filling system 300 according to the teachings of thepresent disclosure. The aircraft lavatory filling system 300 in thisexample is a dual batch or batching tank filling system. In someembodiments, the aircraft lavatory filling system 300 may be installedon an aircraft lavatory service cart, or other suitable vehicle ormobile transport.

The aircraft lavatory filling system 300 may include a larger fill tank310 and two, smaller batch tanks 330 and 340. The fill tank 310 mayhold, for example, approximately 16 to 250 gallons of clear water on aservice cart, or approximately 100 to 500 gallons on a service truck.The fill tank 310 may be constructed of plastic, aluminum, stainlesssteel, or other non-corrosive material.

The first batch tank 330 (clear water batch tank) may be used to holdclear water. The second batch tank 340 (blue water batch tank) may beused to hold blue water. The first and second batch tanks 330 and 340may be constructed of plastic, aluminum, stainless steel, or othernon-corrosive material.

In use, a first pump 320 pumps water, via a first fluid line 322, fromthe fill tank 310 to either the first batch tank 330 or the second batchtank 340. A switch, in the form of a tank selector valve 324, may beused to select whether the first batch tank 330 (via hose 326) or secondbatch tank 340 (via hose 328) receives water from the fill tank 310. Theselector valve 324 may be a three-way selector/diverter valve known inthe art. In some embodiments, the selector valve 324 may be manual andoperated manually using a selection handle. In other embodiments, theselector valve 324 may be activated electrically, or activated withpneumatic or hydraulic pressure.

A second pump 350 (which may be called a clear pump) pumps water, via asecond fluid line 351, from the first batch tank 330, through tank rinseline coupling 360, to a waste storage tank located onboard an aircraft.A third pump 352 (which may be called a blue pump) pumps water, via athird fluid line 353, from the second batch tank 340, through tank rinseline coupling 362, to the waste storage tank located onboard theaircraft. The arrows illustrated in FIG. 3 indicate the flow of fluidamong the various components. The pumps 320, 350 and 352 may beelectric, gas, air, hand pump, or any suitable pump as known in the art.

In some embodiments, the aircraft lavatory filling system 300 mayinclude a tank 370 coupled to the second batch tank 340 via fluid line371. In this example, the tank 370 may be used to store concentratedblue sanitizing agents. A fourth pump 372 coupled to fluid line 371 maybe used to pump a desired amount of sanitizing agents into the secondbatch tank 340 (as shown) to form a sanitizing fluid. Thus, in theexample shown, the second batch tank 340 may hold blue water. The fourthpump 372 may be electric, gas, air, hand pump, or any suitable pump asknown in the art. However, as the amount of sanitizing agents needed toconcentrate the water in the batch tank 340 is usually small, forexample, 1-2 fluid ounces for 3 gallons of water, the pump 372 may moresuitably be a hand pump in order to avoid overfilling the batch tank 340with sanitizing agents.

In some exemplary operations, clear water stored in the first (clearwater) batch tank 330 may be used to rinse an aircraft lavatory systembefore the blue water in the second (blue water) batch tank 340 is usedto re-fill the aircraft lavatory system. In applications where theaircraft lavatory system does not require blue sanitizing water, onlywater from the first batch tank 330 may be used. It should also be notedthat the aircraft lavatory filling system 300 advantageously eliminatesthe use of fill meters and their associated problems.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of one implementation of anaircraft lavatory service cart 400 transporting an aircraft lavatoryfilling system 450 according to the teachings of the present disclosure.In the example shown, the aircraft lavatory filling system 450 isutilizes a single batch tank 410 located near the rear of the cart 400.In present example, the aircraft lavatory service cart 400 includes analuminum casing, a 70-gallon (265 liter) fill/flush tank (not visiblyshown as it is enclosed in the aluminum case) holding an immersionheater (not visibly shown) for insurance against frozen blue lavatoryfluid, and a 110-gallon (416.4 liter) waste tank (not visibly shown). Inother implementations, the aircraft lavatory service cart 400 may bemade of any non-corrosive material, constructed to any dimension, andinclude additional components and features. In the example lavatoryservice cart 400 shown, the pump, waste valve, and fill hoses arepositioned in an insulated and heated rear compartment, as will bedescribed in more detail below. The example aircraft lavatory servicecart 400 shown is sized for corporate aircraft lavatory systems andfeatures a low-profile design with, for example, a 22-inch inlet and9-inch gravity waste outlet, which is ideal for servicing corporate andregional aircraft. The low-profile deck height of the service cart inthis example is low enough for servicing business and regional jets butalso provides plenty of height for servicing larger jets. In commercialaircraft applications, the aircraft lavatory filling system 450 may betransported on a truck and the tanks, pumps, valves, hoses, and othercomponents may be constructed to larger dimensions.

FIG. 5 is a partial top view of an example embodiment of an aircraftlavatory filling system 500 of the present disclosure. As shown, theaircraft lavatory filling system 500 may be installed in an aircraftlavatory service cart similar to the aircraft lavatory service cart 400described in FIG. 4. In this example, the aircraft lavatory fillingsystem 500 is a single batch tank filling system having a batch tank510. The batch tank 510 may be constructed of plastic or any otherdurable, transparent or translucent material.

As shown, a first pump 540 pumps water or sanitizing fluid from a filltank (not shown) to the batch tank 510 via hose 530. In someembodiments, the batch tank 510 may hold up to 3 gallons of fluid. Thebatch tank 510 includes an overfill hose 520. In the event that anoperator accidentally overfills the batch tank 510, the overfill fluidwill drain through the overfill hose 525, for example, back into thefill or main tank (not shown). A second pump 560 pumps the water orsanitizing fluid from the batch tank 510 to a lavatory tank located inan aircraft via hose 570 (connecting from the batch tank (510 to thepump 560) and hose 550 (connecting from the pump 560 to an aircraftservice panel, as shown in FIG. 8). A level marker 590 may be providedfor visual indication of the fluid level in the batch tank 510.

The aircraft lavatory filling system 500 may also include a drain-backvalve 580 to release pressure in the hose 550. During the filling offluid to the aircraft, the hose 550 may stay under pressure. To preventpressurized fluid from spilling when an operator disconnects the hose550 from the aircraft, the drain-back valve 580 serves to release thepressure built-up in the hose line before the operator disconnects thehose 550. When opened, the drain-back valve 580 releases hose pressure,and the fluid in the fill hose 550 is directed back into the batch tank510. This prevents the fluid from spilling, for example, on theoperator, the hangar floor, or the ramp.

FIG. 6 is a partial side view of the aircraft lavatory filling system500, illustrating one example of a power switch 620 used to power theaircraft lavatory filling system. In some embodiments, the power switch620 may be spring loaded to generally remain in an unbiased, neutralposition. When an operator holds or biases the switch 620 in a firstdirection, for example, downward from the neutral position, the pump 540is activated and pumps water or sanitizing fluid from the fill tank tothe batch tank 510. In some embodiments, the pump 540 runs only when theswitch 620 is being held in the first (e.g., downward) position. Thepump 540 stops when the operator releases, or let's go off, the switch620, which returns to the neutral position. When the operator holds theswitch 620 in a second position, for example, upward from the neutralposition, the pump 560 is activated and pumps water or sanitizing fluidfrom the batch tank 510 to the aircraft lavatory system. In someembodiments, the pump 560 runs only when the switch 620 is being held inthe second (e.g., upward) position. The pump 560 stops when the operatorreleases, or let's go off, the switch 620, which returns to the neutralposition.

Referring back to FIG. 3, in a dual batch tank system, separate pumpswitches may be provided to operate pumps 320, 350, 352, and 372respectively. These switches may be clearly labeled, for example, toindicate which particular tank and hose a switch controls or operates.

Also in a dual batch tank system, each batch tank includes an overfillhose.

Turning now to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in some example embodiments, to avoidvisibility issues when servicing at night, a batch tank, such as thebatch tank 510 and level marker 590 may be backlit with lights 720 and730, making the level marker 590 and the fluid in the batch tank 510easily visible. The lights 720 and 730 may use any lighting known in theart to provide adequate illumination. FIG. 7A shows the batch tank 510being empty. FIG. 7B shows the batch tank 510 with blue water 740 madevisible when the batch tank 510 is backlit.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary operation set-up where the aircraftlavatory filling system 500 is used to service an aircraft 850. Asshown, the hose 550 is hooked up to an aircraft coupling at an aircraftservice panel 852 to deliver water or sanitizing fluid to the aircraftlavatory system (not shown). A hose 840 is hooked up to second aircraftcoupling at the aircraft service panel 852 to release waste from theaircraft lavatory system.

Although the embodiments described herein are particularly suited forservicing aircraft lavatory systems, the invention can be used forfilling or re-filling any fluid system using small batches of fluid ingeneral, without the need for meters. The invention may also be used oncaustic-corrosive materials that would require meters built from moreexotic materials.

In general, terms such as “coupled to,” and “configured for couplingto,” and “secured to,” and “configured for securing to” and “incommunication with” (for example, a first component is “coupled to” or“is configured for coupling to” or is “configured for securing to” or is“in communication with” a second component) are used herein to indicatea structural, functional, mechanical, electrical, signal, optical,magnetic, electromagnetic, ionic or fluidic relationship between two ormore components or elements. As such, the fact that one component issaid to be in communication with a second component is not intended toexclude the possibility that additional components may be presentbetween, and/or operatively associated or engaged with, the first andsecond components.

As used herein, the term “and/or” placed between a first entity and asecond entity means one of (1) the first entity, (2) the second entity,and (3) the first entity and the second entity. Multiple entities listedwith “and/or” should be construed in the same manner, i.e., “one ormore” of the entities so conjoined. Other entities may optionally bepresent other than the entities specifically identified by the “and/or”clause, whether related or unrelated to those entities specificallyidentified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/orB”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as“comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionallyincluding entities other than B); in another embodiment, to B only(optionally including entities other than A); in yet another embodiment,to both A and B (optionally including other entities). These entitiesmay refer to elements, actions, structures, steps, operations, values,and the like.

Although the above description illustrates particular examples ofvarious implementations, the present disclosure is not limited to theforegoing illustrative examples. A person skilled in the art is awarethat the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents can be applied in various further implementations andmodifications. In particular, a combination of the various features ofthe described implementations is possible, as far as these features arenot in contradiction with each other. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription of implementations has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description. Modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above description.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aircraft lavatory filling system, comprising:a fill tank sized to hold a first quantity of fluid; and a batch tankcoupled to the fill tank via a first pump and a first hose; wherein thebatch tank is sized to hold a second quantity of fluid that isintermittently delivered from the batch tank to an aircraft lavatorysystem.
 2. The aircraft lavatory filling system of claim 1, wherein thesecond quantity is less than the first quantity.
 3. The aircraftlavatory filling system of claim 2 further comprising a second pump anda second hose for delivering the second quantity of fluid from the batchtank to the aircraft lavatory system.
 4. The aircraft lavatory fillingsystem of claim 3 further comprising a power switch to activate thefirst pump when the power switch is being held in a first position. 5.The aircraft lavatory filling system of claim 4, wherein the powerswitch activates the second pump when the power switch is being held ina second position.
 6. The aircraft lavatory filling system of claim 1,wherein the batch tank includes an overfill hose for draining back tothe fill tank any fluid overfilling the batch tank.
 7. The aircraftlavatory filling system of claim 1, wherein the batch tank includes anapparatus for measuring the fluid level in the batch tank.
 8. Theaircraft lavatory filling system of claim 1, wherein the batch tankincludes a device for illuminating the batch tank.
 9. The aircraftlavatory filling system of claim 3 further includes a valve forrelieving pressure buildup in the second hose.
 10. An aircraft lavatoryfilling system, comprising: a fill tank sized to hold a first quantityof fluid; the fill tank connected to a first pump and a selector valveand a first hose; a first batch tank connected to the selector valve anda second hose; a second batch tank connected to the selector valve and athird hose; and wherein the first batch tank and the second batch tankis each sized to hold a second quantity of fluid, the second quantity islimited in volume.
 11. The aircraft lavatory filling system of claim 10,wherein the second quantity is less than the first quantity.
 12. Theaircraft lavatory filling system of claim 11 further includes a secondpump and a fourth hose for delivering fluid from the first batch tank toan aircraft lavatory system.
 13. The aircraft lavatory filling system ofclaim 12 further includes a third pump and a fifth hose for deliveringfluid from the second batch tank to the aircraft lavatory system. 14.The aircraft lavatory filling system of claim 13, wherein the firstbatch tank holds clear water.
 15. The aircraft lavatory filling systemof claim 13, wherein the second batch tank holds sanitizing water. 16.The aircraft lavatory filling system of claim 15 further includes afourth tank for holding concentrated sanitizing additives.
 17. Theaircraft lavatory filling system of claim 16 further includes a fourthpump for pumping a desired amount of concentrated sanitizing additivesfrom the fourth tank into the second batch tank.
 18. The aircraftlavatory filling system of claim 10, wherein the first batch tank andthe second batch tank each includes a respective overfill hose.
 19. Anintermittent fluid delivery system, comprising: a fill tank sized tohold a first quantity of fluid; a batch tank coupled to the fill tankvia a first pump and a first hose; and wherein the batch tank is sizedto hold a second quantity of fluid that is less than the first quantity,and wherein the a second pump and a second hose are coupled to the batchtank for intermittently delivering the second quantity of fluid from thebatch tank to a receiving system.
 20. The aircraft lavatory fillingsystem of claim 19, wherein the receiving system is a lavatory system.